Blender users desire greater functionality from blenders. Domestic and commercial blenders process and blend a broad range of food and beverage materials. Some of the beverage materials include dairy products (e.g., milkshakes), smoothies (with, e.g., frozen fruit), and frozen cocktails (e.g., daiquiris and margaritas). The different materials to be blended have different blend characteristics. For instance, some of the materials are easy to blend and blend quickly, while other materials are very hard or lack homogeneity and are very difficult to process and blend.
Some advanced blenders in the art may be programmed for different uses. Typically, a blender program will include several cycles that vary the blend speed and time of blend in an effort to obtain various results. Because existing blenders operate without feedback and therefore without regard for their efficiency, they may over-blend or under-blend material. Over-blending or under-blending may be caused by user error or by variations in batches of material being processed and blended. Over-blending results in a watery end product, while under-blending may result in a chunky end product. The broad range of material users desire to blend makes difficult a consistent textured drink.
Another common problem with conventional blenders is their propensity to cavitate. Many times when aggressive media is added to a drink, a gas pocket will form in the mix between the cutter assembly and the material to be blended. The gas bubble between the material and the cutter assembly causes the material to fail to be blended by the blades, thus disrupting and reducing blend performance. This type of impairment of function is called cavitation. Cavitation is typically remedied by allowing the blender to continue operating until the pocket ruptures (as a result of vibration and/or melting of ingredients). Alternatively, the container may be shaken to loosen the mix and dislodge the gas pocket so the material to be blended can be worked by the cutter assembly.
A still further issue of blender operation concerns the programmability of blender cycles, particularly in a commercial setting. There is a lot of interest in blenders having programmability so that a user may touch a single button to actuate the blender. The blender then automatically runs a predetermined cycle. However, this single button programmability requires knowledge of the buttons—that is, which is the right button for blending the right drink. The determination of the right button also varies with respect to the number of portions being blended. Portion blending is not usually solved by merely lengthening a blend cycle by a whole number multiple of the number of portions desired.
There are also blending issues with the specific class of appliances that shave ice and then blend ingredients with the shaved ice. Current shaver/blenders may incorporate sophisticated programmability similar to that discussed earlier herein. There remain, however, challenges with respect to a user having to remember all of the choices embodied in the programmable buttons and especially when compounded with the problem of also factoring in the number of portions being shaved and blended. Many ice shaver/blenders, in addition to the blending challenges and shortcomings described herein, have the further issue of shaving accurate and consistent amounts of ice before even reaching the full blending stage. For instance, ice shavers based on specifically timed shaving or specific weight of shaved product may in fact cause variable amounts of ice to actually be shaved. These potential inconsistencies only exacerbate the blending issues already described herein.